A blockchain network needs its community to engage with, develop, test, and participate in governance in order to thrive. These types of activities are attracting more developers and thus improving liquidity. Cardano’s main co-founder Charles Hoskinson is an active, strong voice in the crypto and blockchain system, and not once has he taken to social media platforms to connect with the chain’s community and offer guidance in meeting mutual goals. Just recently, Hoskinson drew attention to the fact that audiences are “overfinancializing” blockchain technology and focusing too much on price speculation according to data from the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, and instead urging them to shift their attention a little from matters like the prices towards ways to grow the network. Cardano needs active involvement to scale, which translates to participants testing features, reporting bugs, transacting with ADA, participating and governance, and last but not least, developing smart contracts and apps.
Cardano is only improving with usage
Hoskinson didn’t go public out of the blue. A known content creator in the crypto world, Linda, had encouraged users on X to start engaging with the network in order to improve its functionalities – and the blockchain’s founder only amplified the statement. This followed a post that praised the practicability and ease of use of FluidTokens, a premier decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, mainly on Cardano. FluidTokens provides borrowing, lending, and rental services, primarily via non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as collateral. It supports liquidity pools and peer-to-peer lending, enabling users to hold assets and simultaneously obtain liquidity from them. The post’s owner highlighted how easy it is to track positions on-platform, supporting others to do the same.
Hoskinson reaffirmed the message according to which real use of Cardano makes it better, emphasizing that it’s not speculative activity that supports the network’s development, but real engagement. The more activity a blockchain registers, the more the liquidity increases – and this brings more developers to the table, and improves adoption rates.
The founder also emphasized that this year will be definitive for the broader crypto industry, with a focus on his co-founded blockchain as well. The industry is leaning into real-world utility, becoming harder to move by the general hype-fueled cycles that determined the value of most cryptos and blockchains over the past few years, a time during which the industry was gradually maturing.
The stance triggered encouragements and concerns alike
As it always happens, a publicly made opinion can’t spark only one type of reaction. There are those who, upon coming across Hoskinson’s argument, immediately pointed to the project’s structural challenges. Then, there are those who looked at the full part of the glass – rising NFT minting activity, increasing DeFi adoption, and more. Some complained about the reward mechanism that seems to focus more on who’s holding assets passively than on those who actively engage with the network. Others invited the very organizations responsible for building these ecosystems to start utilizing the blockchain and thus offering an actual model to the smaller network participants.
Such mixed reactions indicate that while Cardano may be progressing, some areas need to be reconsidered – such as the incentives program. The community naturally feels more motivated to build, test, and engage with the network when they’re confident the reward system is fair and user-focused. At the same time, Hoskinson encourages individuals to stop obsessing over how fast the network is developing, and reminds them that real-world usage is what can expedite the progress they’re so focused on.
More than 520MN ADA recently unlocked
On a high note, the Cardano ecosystem marked a new achievement – DeFi activity has surpassed a record-breaking 520MN ADA in Total Value Locked (TVL). This is the amount of money that’s found inside the system working. The higher this value, the more people are using the network. It’s basically an indicator of the financial magnitude of a financial ecosystem.
In essence, two factors are expected to attract even more money in TVL. First, it’s the increased regulatory clarity that’s been gradually materializing starting with 2024, when the SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) – after which more such investment vehicles followed. At the same time, on December 30, 2024, the European Union adopted the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, which to date remains the benchmark regulatory framework worldwide, supporting the market’s financial stability and integrity by standardizing public offerings of crypto assets.
The U.S. is transitioning from an enforcement-driven policy to legislation with the GENIUS Act, developed in 2025, creating the first federal framework for crypto assets. More similar developments occurred, with the broader, increasing regulatory clarity sparking a belief that ADA could achieve 1BN in TVL in the following period.
Now, the second factor that supports this credence is that Cardano’s sidechain, Midnight, signed a deal with a major UK-regulated bank – the Monument Bank. According to the institution, plans are to tokenize almost 250MN pounds ($335 million) of retail customer deposits on Cardano’s sidechain, making it the first such undertaking done by a U.K.-regulated bank on a public decentralized ledger.
What using the Cardano blockchain implies
There are multiple ways to use the Cardano network, as Hoskinson and other supporters advocate for, in order to improve it. At a basic level, it implies interacting actively with its on-chain ecosystem – essentially, that can be done by deploying capital, executing transactions, and contributing to network activity that strengthens its utility and security.
One can stake ADA, meaning delegating tokens to stake pools and helping validate the network while earning yield. Users can also engage with smart contracts by using decentralized applications (DeFi protocols, NFT marketplaces, identity solutions) existing on Cardano, a type of activity that increases TVL, enhances liquidity, and tests the infrastructure’s robustness, to name a few outcomes.
Deeper participation involves providing liquidity to DEXs (decentralized exchanges), minting or trading NFTs, or even deploying smart contracts for new protocols – a developer’s thing, and a type of activity that could pull more devs in. These individuals contribute mainly by building tooling, creating apps atop an existing blockchain infrastructure, upgrading codebases, identifying inefficiencies, and, overall, improving scalability.
Endnote
Overall, network use is what drives transaction volume, generates fees, and triggers real economic activity – critical metrics for a blockchain’s long-term sustainability.
